flower crowns | drarry

twenty two

twenty two
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harry sought draco out near the end of dinner.

draco, for obvious reasons, assumed that they would leave separately and meet away from prying eyes, but harry didn't get the memo, and walked right over to the slytherin table. gossiping whispers immediately broke out through the hall, skin prickling at the dozens of eyes on him.

draco stared at him with wide eyes until he was halfway across the room, and scrambled to his feet, meeting harry before he could get any farther.

harry smiled when he saw the blond approaching, but it faltered when he saw draco's tense frame and constant glances towards the whispering students.

he was tempted to reach for his hand, but decided to wait until they were safe from gossipers, and instead matched the blond's brisk pace to get out of there as fast as possible.

once the doors were closed behind them, draco let out a relieved huff, shoulders slumping, and harry regarded him guiltily.

"i'm sorry. i didn't mean to draw attention to you." he said quietly.

"s'alright," draco responded, pushing himself off the wall and beginning to walk down the hallway, a remorseful harry walking behind him.

after a while, draco started talking.

"i met elizabeth in sixth year. which, as you know, it wasn't a very good time for me. she's...a very lonely person, which i guess isn't that surprising considering the whole 'being dead' thing. but...she's really lovely once you get to know her. most of the only good memories i have of sixth year were spending time with her. i've been trying to get her to come out of the bathroom, but she feels...tethered there. and it's sort of become her home. what i'm really worried about though, is what she'll do once i– once we graduate..."

he continued to talk absentmindedly, and harry just listened thoughtfully.

"it's kind of crazy, actually," draco said as they approached the dark oak door with a worn golden sign that read 'girls'. "i was going through so many awful things, but if they hadn't happened, i never would've met her."

he met harry's gaze, blue emotions shining through the grey, and pushed open the door.

"draco!" myrtle squealed, rushing forward to hug draco with her arms outstretched.

she fell through him, making him laugh wistfully, eyes watering as he turned to look at the ghost. he held his hand up towards her, and she seemed to know what he was doing because without a moments hesitation, she brought her own hand to press gently against his. she let a few silent tears slip down her cheeks.

harry felt like he was intruding on something special. but before he could look away and let them catch up while he faded into the background, myrtle turned to him, smiling a genuine smile that he'd rarely seen on he before.

"you kept your promise, thank you."

harry tentatively smiled back, giving an awkward sort of nod.

thankfully, she turned back to draco seconds later, and began fawning over him like a worried mother. she checked his body for bruises and scars, ignoring draco's dismissive demands of "i'm fine."